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Lost in Translation

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Not really expecting much I went to see this film with a few friends and was blown away by how good it was. From start to finish there was just something about the film that kept me hooked. Just wondering what everybody else thought about it.

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Guest Harry Hood

I've yet to ssee 13, but I definitely walked out of both movies with the biggest of shit eating grins on my face. They both ended just the way I wanted them to.

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Lost In Translation is such a fantastic film, I watched it just the other day. The ending of the film is just perfect, I couldn't have asked for more. Just like with Big Fish, there isn't a single thing that I didn't like about LiT.

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Guest El Satanico
I've yet to see it, but I'm contemplating getting the DVD Tuesday.

Pick up American Splendor also.

 

 

That's the problem. I'm trying decide on which one to buy.

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Guest El Satanico

But is it a racist film?

 

I've actually seen that discussed on the IMDB message board.

 

 

For those who haven't been there, the IMDB messageboard is an awful place. I dislike the place but i enjoy commenting on the stupidity for some cheap entertainment.

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No it's not a racist film, it's entertainment, it is presented in a way where you feel as if you are in Japan. It brings the confusion of being over there to the viewer, not being able to understand the language, not understanding their customs, etc...

 

Anyone who sees this film as racist, anyone, is a mindless idiot.

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Guest El Satanico

And that's what the majority said on the IMDB thread that asked it.

 

I haven't seen it, but from what I know of it I completely agree.

 

 

Some oversensitive idiots claimed that when the movie was showing Bill and Charlotte's ignorance of Japanese culture and language it was really showing that people in Japan are stupid.

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No it's not a racist film, it's entertainment, it is presented in a way where you feel as if you are in Japan. It brings the confusion of being over there to the viewer, not being able to understand the language, not understanding their customs, etc...

 

Anyone who sees this film as racist, anyone, is a mindless idiot.

Well said.

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But is it a racist film?

 

I've actually seen that discussed on the IMDB message board.

 

 

For those who haven't been there, the IMDB messageboard is an awful place. I dislike the place but i enjoy commenting on the stupidity for some cheap entertainment.

oh, man, there's this idiot (The Advocate I think his name is) on the Taxi Driver board, saying it's racist and how he's not ever going to let his kids see it. The fact that he says it's racist and he's not letting his kids see it isn't SO bad I guess, but the arguments he made, and the fact that he LOVED Showgirls...ugh...I argued with him for a while before it turned out that he was just a troll anyways

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Guest El Satanico

Yeah that's the problem over there. It's hard to tell who's an idiot and who's just being a troll. So when you go to argue with an idiot, you don't know if it's well placed or if you're just humoring a troll.

 

Well I don't seriously argue with them, that would ruin the entertainment.

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My sister, who knows more about films then anyone I know, didn't like Lost in Translation as much as everyone else.

 

I'm still going to check it out, along with Thirteen when it comes on DVD.

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There was something about the movie that kept me hooked throughout, nonetheless it is strongly overrated. Bill Murray, best actor? I don't think so. However, what may have made the film less enjoyable for me was seeing it in a theatre with a bunch of people. It's one of those films that I would've probably enjoyed more if I had stumbled onto it while channel surfing at 3am.

 

The movie is not racist, that's ridiculous, but a lot of the jokes in it poke fun at stuff like improper English pronunciation (they went really overboard with the "r" for "l" stuff). It's no Tom Green Subway Monkey Hour, but it has its funny moments.

 

I thought the karaoke scene was wonderful.

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lots of poking fun at the japanese + lack of any positive representations DOES = a pretty stereotypical image. i wouldn't call it RACIST, but it could be construed as such.

 

anyway, my favorite movie of 2003.

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Guest Metallica

I thought it was okay but it wasn't anything special, parts were amusing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film.

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Guest red_file

It's a better than average film with sympathetic, somewhat realistic characters. I think it's been overrated because it was unexpected. Sophia's previous work has been competent but unremarkable; Murray's work has been scattershot in recent years (when was the last time he put together a string of good performances?); and Scarlett was largely unknown outside of a few well recieved supporting roles. Just from the details it looked like a film that probably wouldn't work. That it did was an extremely pleasant surprise and caused people to overrate it.

 

Another factor seems to be an issue of identification. It seems that a lot of viewers (particularly those in their mid-to-late twenties) identify with Charlotte's listless life. Because they identify with the character, they view the movie as a whole in a more positive light. This is not entirely unlike the way Almost Famous was overrated by reviewers who fondly remembered growing up in that time period, or how stoners/slackers/Jerseyians overrate Kevin Smith's films. The "Hey, that's me up there!" factor.

 

I really agree with art, I kinda wish this was a movie that I discovered on my own, either late at night channel surfing, or had it catch my eye in the video store.

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Guest El Satanico
I thought it was okay but it wasn't anything special, parts were amusing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film.

Expecting a "Bill Murray movie" may have been the problem. From what I know of it, it's not a typical Bill Murray role.

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Guest Boomer Sprinklespax
I thought it was okay but it wasn't anything special, parts were amusing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film.

Expecting a "Bill Murray movie" may have been the problem. From what I know of it, it's not a typical Bill Murray role.

Bill Murray hasn't done a Bill Murray movie in years, and from the post-Golden Globes press interviews that I saw with him, he doesn't intend to do movies like that anymore.

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Guest El Satanico
I thought it was okay but it wasn't anything special, parts were amusing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film.

Expecting a "Bill Murray movie" may have been the problem. From what I know of it, it's not a typical Bill Murray role.

Bill Murray hasn't done a Bill Murray movie in years, and from the post-Golden Globes press interviews that I saw with him, he doesn't intend to do movies like that anymore.

That's true, but I figured he was referring to a "Bill Murray movie" when he said "I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film".

 

Of course I could be wrong, but that's what I got from his statement.

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Guest Boomer Sprinklespax

I saw Lost In Translation at a local pseudo art house soon after it came out.

 

At the time, I didn't think it was all that great.

 

But the next day (and the following week), I couldn't get it out of my brain.

 

To me, that is the mark of a great film, one that stays with you for a long time after you see it.

 

I have yet to watch it again, so I'm withholding true judgement until then. But I will say that it's very memorable, and it draws you in via the excellent characterization.

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Guest Boomer Sprinklespax
I thought it was okay but it wasn't anything special, parts were amusing but I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film.

Expecting a "Bill Murray movie" may have been the problem. From what I know of it, it's not a typical Bill Murray role.

Bill Murray hasn't done a Bill Murray movie in years, and from the post-Golden Globes press interviews that I saw with him, he doesn't intend to do movies like that anymore.

That's true, but I figured he was referring to a "Bill Murray movie" when he said "I wouldn't say it's anywhere near Bill Murray's best film".

 

Of course I could be wrong, but that's what I got from his statement.

Point taken.

 

I suppose you sort of have to judge his work in Bill Murray-style comedies differently from his work as the "serious actor" that he is now.

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Guest Boomer Sprinklespax

Not to be a post whore, but another thing I've got to say about LIT is that it takes full advantage of the beauty of Tokyo and, as a result, it is an extremely gorgeous film. Just great, great cinematography.

 

EDIT: Just checked the Oscar noms, and it really pisses me off that LIT didn't get nominated for Best Cinematography. In my opinion, that was its best point.

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I just finished watching it.

 

Good movie, but overated. I The midle part was brilliant, but it fell apart towards the end. The strength of the film was the two leads interaction, so any time when they weren't together on screen dragged a little IMO.

 

Still, I'd like to see Bill Murray get an Oscar for it. He played the part well.

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It was a beautiful film, it contained what I love best about Bill Murray (he's funny not because of what he says, but how he says it), and on a purely physical note, it opens with one of the best opening shots in fil history, heheh.

 

Oh, and if anyone can't tell how autobiographical the film is to Sofia Coppola, take a look.

 

Young woman adrift in what she wants to do with her life (Sofia in her 20's, she did art, photography, wrote, worked business before turning to filmmaking)

A husband she's emotionally distant to who's a celebrated artist who everyone talks about (her soon to be ex Spike Jonze)

A reverrent infatuation with her older compatriat (Sofia hunted Murray down to get him to do the role and is still in awe that he took the part).

 

And finally, look at Scarlett Johansson and Sofia Coppola, the actress looks A LOT like the director.

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